MIFA 2022: Australian Children's Television Foundation's "First Day's" to debut in Germany

The Australian Children's Television Foundation  drama series, "First Day" has made its debut in Germany for the first time.“'First Day' is a special and important story about inclusion, diversity, resilience and friendship," ACTF CEO Jenny Buckland said. "We are thrilled that audiences in Germany will soon get to meet Hannah and follow her journey as she navigates her first weeks at high school, which all children of the same age will be able to relate to.”

The airing for "First Day" follows the sale of the first season to broadcaster ZDF. The four-part series, produced by Epic Films in association with Kojo Entertainment, is now airing on KiKA. Broadcast rights for the second series have recently become available through the ACTF and have already been acquired by SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland) and Canal Futura (Brazil), with more sales to be announced soon. The second series premiered to Australian audiences on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and in the USA on Hulu earlier this year. 

Its first series received positive feedback both locally and overseas. So far, the show has been acquired by broadcasters across six continents. Broadcasters who have already acquired the series include France Televisions (France), NHK (Japan), Hulu (USA), CBC (Canada), NRK (Norway), YLE (Finland), DR TV (Denmark), SVT (Sweden), HOT TV (Israel), RTE (Ireland), SABC (South Africa), NPO (Netherlands) and Canal Futura (Brazil). It has won accolades at the Rockie Awards, Rose d’Or Awards, Kidscreen Awards and the GLAAD Media Award, as well as the 2021 Best Kids Live-Action Emmy Award.

"First Day" tells the story of Hannah, a transgender girl starting high school. Hannah experiences all the excitement and fear associated with this transition, but her first day is even more significant: it’s the first day she will wear a girl’s uniform to school and go by her chosen name, rather than the boy’s name she was given at birth.